ALLENDALE, MI - In the wake of University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman’s announcement Thursday that she’ll retire in 2014, administrators at Grand Valley State University fondly recalled their time working with the leader of the Ann Arbor-based school.

“One can’t talk about Mary Sue Coleman without taking careful note of her importance as a national higher education leader,” said Matt McLogan, GVSU’s vice president for university relations. “Her strong voice for the importance of higher education in Michigan and her strong voice on the importance of diversity have been important assets both in Michigan and nationally.”

Coleman, who has served as U of M’s president since 2002, announced her decision to retire when her contract expires in July 2014 during the university’s monthly Board of Regents meeting.

"Leading the University of Michigan is the most challenging and rewarding work of my career,” Coleman said in a news release. “It is a tremendous privilege and one that continually energizes me. I have often said I have the best job in higher education, and I look forward to continuing to work with faculty, students, staff and alumni in the upcoming year.”

He cited a partnership that sets aside up to eight slots for GVSU students at the university's doctoral pharmacy program. He also pointed to a program where GVSU reserves seats for Wolverine students looking to enroll in its occupational therapy program.

“This has been a two-way street,” McLogan said, “and speaks to an important feature of collaboration in higher education that lawmakers and others in public life ask for and which the University of Michigan and Grand Valley have delivered.”